New Research Study from ARI Director – PREP Interests, Barriers, and Interventions

A new study, co-written by ARI Director, Dr. Kasey Claborn explores how PREP — Pre-exposure prophylaxis — can be used to help contracting HIV. In their findings, Dr. Claborn et al find that PreP adoption among women is low.

“We conducted interviews among Black and Latina cisgender women in Austin, Texas to better understand their perspectives related to PrEP, an HIV prevention medication. We discovered that our participants had very low levels of awareness of PrEP as an HIV prevention medication,” Claborn said.

Funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the study found that cisgender women are significantly more likely to contract HIV than White women; however, public health investments have largely left this population underserved.

“Once we told them about PrEP, they were very interested in it, although they had quite a few concerns related to side effects, treatment protocols, and insurance coverage,” Claborn said. “This work underscored the urgent need for health literacy programs targeting PrEP uptake among Black and Latina cisgender women. Culturally tailored interventions and outreach programs are needed in order to promote access to PrEP.”

Read the study, published October 5, 2023 in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.